Malaysia's credit card holders up 16.9% in two years

Asian Economic News, Oct 2, 2000

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 25 Kyodo

The number of credit card holders in Malaysia has risen 16.9% in two years, from 2.07 million in March 1998 to 2.41 million in March this year, Bank Negara said Monday.

The outstanding debt of credit card holders was 5.72 billion ringgit ($1.50 billion) at the end of March, an increase of 1.3 billion ringgit from 4.41 billion ringgit on March 31, 1998, the central bank said.

Of the total credit card debt, Bank Negara said, only 6.43% had turned into bad debt or nonperforming loans this year, compared with 12.23% in 1998.

This indicated ''a significant improvement in tandem with the strengthening of the economic recovery,'' the central bank said in a statement.

The credit card bad debt accounted for only 0.75% of the total of nonperforming loans in the banking system at end March this year, based on a three-month classification. Two years ago, the ratio was 1.47%.